𝐌𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 || 𝐒.𝐆𝐨𝐣𝐨 | 𝐍.𝐙𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟐 : 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐩

✩ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟐 : 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐩 ✩

"𝐓𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬."

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The months passed like a trail of silk in the wind, and the Jujutsu school slowly became a place of learning... and exile.
For Chihiro, it was the first time a roof didn't smell of Zen'in blood or the sticky incense of clan rituals.
Here, the air carried other scents: chalk on tatami mats, tea shared in the common rooms, and sometimes... rain on hydrangeas.

Shoko, a soft figure in a white coat, quickly adopted her.
She often spoke to her in a low voice, the way one speaks to wounded animals or fragile spirits.
She placed her hands gently on Chihiro's temples and explained the mysteries of the body—its monthly rhythms, its hidden aches, the secrets of womanhood—secrets the Zen'in clan had always hidden or weaponized.

"You're a woman, not a sacred womb," Shoko would say with a soft smile, lighting a cigarette she never finished.
Then she'd hand her creams, hair clips, soft undergarments.
Chihiro, mute, would nod with flushed cheeks and a quiet flutter in her chest.

Akari, too, took her hand.
She brought her into town, introduced her to outings, to eye shadow, to skirts that twirled when you laughed.
One day, they ran under the rain to escape a group of sorcerer paparazzi—a moment of brightness, of freedom.
Chihiro had laughed silently, lips closed, eyes sparkling.

But the school had its cold walls.
And in the corridors, voices lowered when she passed.

"Did you see her?"
"That's the mute Zen'in girl. The silent enchantress."
"They say she can summon without speaking. That she dreams in cursed tongues."
"They say she was born with blood from the Heian era. Cursed blood."
"Not even human. Just a vengeful spirit wrapped in skin."